Codes and Standards for Lift Industry Safety

2026 Is Shaping Up to Be a Pivotal Year for Lift Industry Safety Standards

A major regulatory shake-up is heading for the UK lift and escalator industry, and consulting engineer Colin Craney doesn’t hold back on his concerns in his latest Elevator World piece.

Among the headline changes: new European standards EN ISO 8100-1 and -2 are set to eventually replace the long-established EN 81-20 and EN 81-50, while LOLER 1998 faces a long-overdue review and the Machinery Directive gives way to a more robust Machinery Regulation from January 2027.

But it’s not all welcomed. Craney raises a pointed concern that some of the new standards discard long-established norms and replace them with complex verification methods that may not be straightforwardly applied in the field,  a worry that lands squarely on an industry workforce he says is “struggling to come to terms with current rules and technologies.”

He also points to a sobering real-world case: an August 2025 High Court injunction under the Building Safety Act, the first time the HSE has used its powers this way, which he suggests should serve as a warning to duty-holders across the industry.

With safety long positioned as the industry’s core reputation and selling point, Craney’s verdict is clear: how the sector navigates these changes in 2026 will shape customer confidence for years to come.

Read Colin’s full analysis here.

Colin Craney has 42 years of industry experience, initially in a number of field and management roles with Otis, followed by 17 years in consulting, currently for SVM Associates. Colin is a U.K. chartered engineer and a fellow of CIBSE, European engineer, chartered safety and health practitioner, accredited consultant on the HSE Occupational Safety and Health Consultants Register and a member of the Chartered Institution of Occupational Safety and Health. Colin is a barrister, having been called to the bar by the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple.